Famous Kedarnath temple reopened for Pilgrims

Dehra Dun, May 8 (PTI) Portals of famous Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath today reopened for pilgrims after a gap of six months with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank among those having early darshan of Lord Shiva.

Amid blowing of conches and chanting of vedic hymns and shlokas, Chief priest of Kedarnath shrine Bhimshankar Ling opened the locks of the temple at 0530 hrs in the morning in the presence of senior administrative and police officials, official sources said.

While Nishank performed puja along with his family members, Uttarakhand Disaster Management Minister Khajan das and Principal Secretary Tourism Rakesh Sharma were also among the first ones, who paid the obeisance at the temple.

Meanwhile, the portals of Badrinath shrine would also be thrown open for Pilgrims tomorrow.